BILL NUMBER: SJR 9	CHAPTERED  07/16/99

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   67
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   JULY 16, 1999
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   JULY 12, 1999
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   APRIL 29, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   MARCH 22, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Senators Lewis, Dunn, Johnson, and Morrow
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ackerman, Bates, Baugh, Brewer,
Campbell, Correa, and Maddox)

                        FEBRUARY 25, 1999

   Senate Joint Resolution No. 9--Relative to an Orange County
commissary.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 9, Lewis.  Orange County commissary.
   This measure would request the President of the United States, the
Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairperson of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Marine
Commandant to authorize the continued operation of a commissary in
Orange County after the closure of the United States Marine Corps Air
Station at El Toro.




   WHEREAS, The federal military base realignment and closure (BRAC)
process will lead to the closing of the United States Marine Corps
Air Station (MCAS) at El Toro, California, in June 1999, and the
impending closure of its commissary in September 2000 ; and
   WHEREAS, Over 1,000 active duty military personnel from all
services will remain in the vicinity of MCAS at El Toro after the
base closes; and
   WHEREAS, Over 120,000 military retirees reside in the Orange
County vicinity of MCAS at EL Toro and are active customers of the
commissary located there; and
   WHEREAS, The active duty military personnel, members of the
National Guard and reserves, and military retirees presently entitled
to commissary privileges at MCAS at El Toro will suffer from a
decreased quality of life and increased financial burdens if the
commissary is closed; and
   WHEREAS, The closure of the commissary will eliminate over 100
jobs; and
   WHEREAS, The closest alternative commissaries are:  March Air
Force Base, Riverside, approximately 90 miles round-trip from El
Toro; Camp Pendleton, United States Marine Corps, Oceanside,
approximately 110 miles round-trip from El Toro; and Los Angeles Air
Force Base, El Segundo, approximately 80 miles round-trip from El
Toro; and
   WHEREAS, These alternative locations pose a substantial hardship
by requiring travel from one to two hours to use these facilities;
and
   WHEREAS, Four other bases in the State of California, March Air
Force Base, Fort Ord, the Presidio of San Francisco, and McClellan
Air Force Base, have been closed, but their exchange and commissary
facilities have remained open; and
   WHEREAS, United States Senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne
Feinstein; United States Representatives, Christopher Cox, Gary
Miller, Ed Royce, and Loretta Sanchez; State Senators, Joe Dunn, Ross
Johnson, John Lewis, and Bill Morrow; Assembly Members, Dick
Ackerman, Pat Bates, Scott Baugh, Marilyn Brewer, Bill Campbell, Lou
Correa, and Ken Maddox; and the Orange County Board of Supervisors,
as the Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA), whose members are Cynthia
Coad, James Silva, Charles Smith, Todd Spitzer, and Thomas Wilson,
all support the continued operation of the commissary after base
closure and have so petitioned the United States Secretary of
Defense; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully
requests the President and Congress of the United States, the
Secretary of Defense, the Chairpersons of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Marine Commandant to take
immediate action to authorize the continued operation of a commissary
in Orange County after the closure of the United States Marine Corps
Air Station at El Toro; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, each
Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the
United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairperson of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Marine
Commandant, and the Commissary Operating Board.
